Mike Glinski | MLive.comExecutive Director of the ACLU of Michigan and Attorney Mark Rosenbaum answer questions from the media on July 12.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Saying that schools cannot “be sued into success,” the Michigan PTA president said the ALCU’s legal action against the state on behalf of Highland Park students won’t improve education and likely will serve as a distraction.

“While the ACLU's lawsuit will serve as a wake-up call to many, the educators and families of this community have long known that their students were not on track for college and career readiness,” Michigan PTA President Shaton Berry said in a Wednesday release.

“When the Legislature cuts funding for public education, this is the result: students who are years behind grade level in reading and mathematics and districts without the resources to provide adequate instruction or remediation.”

Berry wrote that improvement in the schools will come from “adequate school funding, a commitment to attracting and retaining skilled educators, and a resurgence of parent and family engagement in Highland Park.

“None of these can result from the ACLU's lawsuit, which may serve to distract district and state leaders from solving the systemic problems that plague our schools.”
The American Civil Liberties Union earlier this month announced it filed a “first of its kind lawsuit” against the state government on behalf of the Highland Park School district students and their “right to read.”

The class action suit filed in Wayne County Circuit Court points to the district’s test scores, facilities and supplies, with ALCU leaders saying the state is unwilling and ineffective in addressing the problems.

Gov. Rick Snyder earlier this year installed an emergency financial manager after the district faced a deficit. The manager has called for the schools to be converted to a charter school district until the financial ship is righted.

Michigan PTA leaders said they want to help families get involved in education and “be a part of solving the achievement gap in Highland Park and across the state. Preparing our children for the future must always be our highest priority. All students, including those in Highland Park, deserve a quality education.”